Chinese

As cauliflower continues to gain in popularity, I’m excited to say that we’re finally on that bandwagon. Though to be honest, I still haven’t been able to convince myself to try it raw. Don’t ask me why, it makes no sense.

I decided to delve into that cauliflower enjoyment and search my Pinterest account for any previously saved recipes that I’d forgotten about. Immediately this pin for Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower called out to me with its stunningly mouth-watering photography.

I made the recipe as directed the first time and while we enjoyed it, it was missing something. I kept thinking, “This needs veggies!” which is hilarious as the entire dish was veggies. That, right there, should tell you that you won’t be missing the meat at all.

We were forced to eat the prepared cauliflower cold as we were dealing with some child(ren) meltdown(s) while simultaneously waiting for the brand new rice cooker to cook some rice.

I determined that the breading wasn’t necessary and decided to try again for lunch later that week. I know it’s “honey garlic” cauliflower, but the garlic was too strong so I toned that flavor down a touch, too. And to get that “desire for something green” I added some frozen edamame to the dish.

My version is perfect for lunch or a weeknight dinner. It serves 2.

Honey Garlic Baked Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets

6 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp sriracha

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp onion powder

6 tbsp water

2 tsp cornstarch

1/3 C frozen shelled edamame, thawed

cooked rice, for serving

Steps:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place cauliflower on a lightly greased baking sheet in an even layer. Bake 20 minutes.

In a small saucepan over medium heat the honey, soy sauce, sriracha, garlic, and onion powder until combined and warmed through.

In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Slowly pour into the sauce, whisking continuously. Bring to a simmer and cook a couple of minutes until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat.

Toss cauliflower and edamame in as much of the sauce as desired. Serve immediately over cooked rice.

Hey everyone! Stir Fry Day Friday is back! Well, sort of. Sweet and Sour Chicken isn’t exactly a stir fry, but it’s meat and veggies cooked in a pan and tossed in a sauce.. close enough, right?

Now that Lent is over our Stir Fry Day Friday theme can continue more regularly. While there are great shrimp and fish stir fries out there I much prefer stir fries made with meat!

There are a LOT of recipes on the internet that boast that they taste exactly like restaurant or take-out, and while all of them are delicious I’ve always found something to be missing – usually that extra bit of sweetness that makes take-out not the healthiest option.

This sweet and sour chicken actually tastes like take out! I was so excited. Stuart and I both went back for seconds – and thirds. I’m not sure if it’s really healthier – it might have less sodium and no MSG, but there’s still a good amount of sugar in this delicious sauce. I forgot to coat the chicken in cornstarch prior to frying so maybe I cut out half a calorie there? I was afraid I’d miss that take-out fried chicken texture but I didn’t! I even enjoyed the bell peppers, which aren’t my favorite vegetable. I used yellow and red because the green did not look good at the store that day – use whatever you like.

Today is another Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the secret recipe club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was assigned the blog Without Adornment written by Bean. Bean bravely talks about her battle with depression. Her blog title came to be from a sermon at church that really spoke to her. To live “without adornment” is something that I think everyone needs to learn how to do. To just be you. With the season of Lent upon us I found this to really hit home. It’s the time of year to reevaluate your relationship not just with God but with yourself. To better yourself, and what better way to do that than to live “without adornment.”

Bean leads a Gluten-Free lifestyle but that doesn’t hold her back from her favorite hobby of baking. I encourage you to check out her amazing recipe index. As I don’t keep gluten-free and am not proficient enough in my baking skills to alter recipes I looked to her savory dishes. With our new Stir Fry Day Fridays I was excited to see Pad Thai and Ginger Beef. I proceeded with the latter.

We enjoyed this beef not on a Friday, but for the Chinese New Year last week. I served it simply with white rice. I again had to eliminate the bean sprouts so I used a little more celery and carrots. I also used three large leaves from a bok choy instead of using baby bok choy. Oh, and I completely forgot to buy bell pepper, so that ingredient was also excluded from my version. This stir fry dish was a huge hit around the table. Thank you Bean for a great recipe.

Note: to keep it gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour (Bean used rice flour) and gluten-free soy sauce.

This stir fry feeds 4-6 people.

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 1/2 – 2 lb sirloin, sliced in thin strips

1 tbsp flour

1 onion, sliced

2 carrots, sliced diagonally

4 tbsp freshly grated ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 stalk celery, sliced diagonally

3 bok choy leaves, chopped

1/3 C sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp cooking sherry

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp corn starch

2 scallions, chopped

Steps:

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.

Toss sirloin strips in flour to coat. Stir fry in batches until cooked through and remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Add the onion, carrots, ginger, and garlic to the same skillet. When onions are translucent add the celery and bok choy. Cook until bok choy is wilted.

In a small bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, sherry, and vinegar. Pour over veggies and bring to a boil. Allow sauce to thicken slightly.

Make a slurry with the corn starch and 3 tbsp water. Gradually add the slurry to the stir fry (I didn’t use all of it) to thicken the sauce to desired consistency. Return the beef to the skillet and toss to coat. Add in the scallion.

I’m so sorry to post a meat dish on Ash Wednesday but tomorrow is the Chinese New Year AND #BundtBakers posting day. So that means my Chinese New Year dish needs to be posted today. Save this post for later because you’re going to want to celebrate with this stir fry recipe.

It seems this post is all about the apologies, but I have one more for you. I did not use bean sprouts. I really wish I could have – I noticed they were missing and the stir fry really needed that crunch they would have provided. I also would have liked to garnish with scallions, too! To still get the onion flavor I added white onion to the stir fry. So why the missing ingredients? There are two reasons. Reason #1: There was a recall on bean sprouts for salmonella. Reason #2: There was a snow storm approaching and the grocery store was missing quite a few ingredients – scallions being one of them.

I would really like to recreate this dish with the missing ingredients (and rephotograph). Even still, we enjoyed every bite of this Chicken Chow Mein – there wasn’t a single morsel leftover.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drizzle with a little seasame oil to prevent sticking.

Season the chicken with the five-spice powder, Sriracha, and a dash of soy sauce. Coat them in cornstarch.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the chicken 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Add in the bell pepper and onion and cook until just al dente. Add the bean sprouts and scallion, cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked chow mein noodles to the stir fry along with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Season to taste with black pepper.

Welcome to the very first Stir Fry Day Friday! Let me give you a little background as to how Stir Fry Day Friday was born:

We had just gotten back from a fabulous family vacation for Christmas. My in-laws joined us at my parent’s hosue down in SWFL for our son’s first Christmas. I’ll have a separate post in the future about our travel experience, but spoiler alert – my then almost-six-month-old did amazingly! It was fabulous to be in the warmth (I’m talking 80 degree weather) and sunshine. We went for walks and even took a dip in the pool. Not a jacket was to be seen.

But then we had to return to Ohio where the clouds are gray, the wind nippy, and the fridge empty. It was time to create that back-from-vacation grocery list. Normally I’d spend an hour surfing my Pinterest and foodgawker accounts but after a week of being spoiled by the grandparents, my son wasn’t about to be put down for more than ten minutes. While he was momentarily happy playing with his new toys on the floor I plopped down next to him and ate my bowl of cereal. We were conveniently situated next to the bookshelf with my cookbooks. The menu of our first week back actually came from recipes on paper!

I grabbed Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen. My brother got me this cookbook a few years ago for my birthday. It’s embarrasing to admit that I’d only created one dish from it – but it was incredible. Tyler Florence is joining Anne Burrell this season on Worst Cooks in America. If you’ve never seen this show I highly encourage you to tune into Food Network Sunday nights for some great laughs. I figured now’s as good as any to put his skills to the test. 😉 I settled on his Stir Fried Beef with Tangerines, Green Beans, and Chiles. Planned it for Friday and alas, the idea of Stir Fry Day Friday was born. Tyler’s book has great informational tidbits about the recipes and tips on how best to prepare the dish. I have high hopes for him on this season of Worst Cooks.

This stir fry dish is full of flavor. The Chinese five spice powder has a subtle licorice smell and taste that I was afraid of but it lends itself beautifully to the ginger and balsamic vinegar. I loved having a fresh crunch of green beans and the pop of fried tangerines delectable. I was excited to try these tangerines as Tyler indicated that frying them would take out the bitterness of the rind and make it edible. He was right! I plan on experimenting with more fried citrus soon.

Stir Fried Beef with Tangerines

Ingredeints:

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

3 tbsp cornstarch, divided use

1 egg white

1/2 tsp sesame oil

salt

white pepper

1 lb thinly sliced beef (Tyler calls for boneless top round, I used a pre sliced beef intended for stir fry from the meat counter)

Heat 3 C oil over high heat in a wok. If you don’t have a wok use only 2 C in a large skillet. Bring oil to 350 degrees F.

Toss tangerine slices in 1 tbsp corn starch. Carefully add to the hot oil and fry for 4 minutes. It will splatter at first as there is moisture in the tangerines. Remove tangerines to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.

Bring oil back to 350 degrees F. Fry the beef in two batches, removing to a paper towel lined plate.

Remove oil to a glass measuring cup. Return 1/4 C of the oil to the wok/pan. Quickly stir-fry the ginger, garlic, and scallions until fragrant.

Add the green beans to the pan, seasoning with salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken stock with the reamining 1 tbsp corn starch. Add the slurry to the green beans. Tossing to coat. Add in the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and sugar. When the sauce is thickened and the green beans al dente add the beef and tangerines. Toss to coat. Add in the red pepper flakes – to taste.

The slow cooker isn’t just for easy week night meals; it’s also great for busy weekends! When my friend and I get together or my mother-in-law is in town for quilting weekends we throw together a slow cooker meal before hunkering down in the “sweat shop” for the day. (I like to tell my husband I’m “Super Wife” on these days.)

I served these with rice and fresh green beans. The leftovers were turned into sandwiches.

Chinese Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 C honey

1/2 C soy sauce

1/4 C hoisin

1/4 C blackberry jam

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 scallions, sliced

Steps:

Combine honey, soy sauce, hoisin, jam, oil, and garlic.

Place chicken in slow cooker. Cover with onion and sauce. Cook on LOW 4 1/2 hours.

Remove chicken and shred. Pour the sauce in a saucepan. Mix together cornstarch with 3 tbsp water. Whisk into sauce and bring to a boil until thickened. Pour over shredded chicken.

Here’s a lettuce-less twist to Salad Night. And a great way to practice your knife skills. I actually prepared this salad the night before we ate it. I knew if I didn’t we’d end up ordering pizza or picking up Chick-fil-A, because let’s face it what sounds better – pizza or broccoli? But if dinner is ready to go, no waiting, then it’s hard to argue with healthy. I can’t promise you that this recipe is tastier than pizza, but I can assure that it’s delicious in its own right. And it’s most definitely better for you.

Broccoli Chicken Salad

Ingredients for salad:

1-2 tbs olive oil

1 lb ground chicken

1 lb broccoli, chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 C shelled edamame

1 red bell pepper, diced

Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles for garnish

Ingredients for dressing:

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1 1/2 tsp sriracha

1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

Steps

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium skillet brown chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Par-boil broccoli for 2-3 minutes. Drain broccoli and put into an ice bath.

In a salad bowl, combine the broccoli with the edamame, carrot, and red pepper.

Whisk together dressing ingredients and toss with the salad. Top with the Chow Mein noodles. Note: If you choose to make this ahead of time like I did, keep the dressing separate from the salad until serving.